Jade. China, Late Shang dynasty, 13th - 11th century BC 柄形玉器 - 商代晚期, 公元前13世紀-前11世紀 This elongated, straight jade with a square cross-section falls in the category of the so called “handle-shaped jades”: these were in use from the Erlitou (c-1900-1700 BC) to the mid-Western Zhou periods (9th century BC) and were likely derived from the awl-shaped jades of the Liangzhu culture (c.3300-2200 BC). The present example, rare and exceptionally fine, is representative of the handleshaped shades that were crafted during the final stage of the Shang dynasty. The handle area is decorated with two sets of double-incised lines and pierced with a hole for suspension. The lower portion of the handle is finely carved with five layers of overlapping leaves, or petals, whose tips turn slightly outwards at the corners. On each of the four sides of the handle, the leaves/petals branch off from a vertical groove that runs from the grip to the tip: the latter is pyramidical in form and plain, except for the sets of double-incised lines that mirror those carved on the grip. The beautiful white jade is smooth and polished with orangey and dark brown deposits in the carved areas and some black deposits, especially in the extremities and within the hole. This handle-shaped jade is virtually identical to one excavated from the tomb of Fu Hao (c.1250 BC) at Anyang, Henan province, reproduced in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yinxu yuqi 殷墟玉器 (Jades from Yinxu), Wenwu Chubanshe, Beijing 1981, no.115 (centre). In Western collections, two more comparable jades of this type are in the Freer/Sackler Galleries of Art, Washington, D.C. (accession numbers S1987.671 and S1987.838). See also a similar handleshaped jade, but decorated with four layers of overlapping leaves, published in F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, no.146. Provenance: From an old Austrian collection LENGTH 19.2 CM长 19.2 厘米 Expertise: Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and dated by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s.